Soooo...do I actually NEED a skimmer?

[stimpsonjcat]

OK, I have an indoor pool and spa...so we are never going to deal with leaves and such.

Do I have to have a skimmer?

I have one, but honestly I view it as a freeze problem during the winter. Can I seal it up and just use the bottom return for circulation/filtering?

It also appears to have developed a minor leak, the outside of it has stayed wet the last 2 days with no rain. I have not noticed a perceptible drop in water level.

Remember my builder has abandoned us, so no help there.

 

[kimkats]

Skimmers help get stuff off the top of the water. Body oil or such is what I am thinking of for your situation instead of leaves.

I really do not know. I have heard of no main drain but never no skimmer. Will have to see what others say as well.

I will keep thinking about it and see what wild ideas I come up with! LOL

 

[woodyp]

if it's an indoor pool...why would rain get it wet and you worry about it freezing? I'm lost!

 

[Swampwoman]

A pool system is engineered for complete water turnover, usually in an 8 hr span, to keep water cleaned not just from debris but also from nasties, like byproducts formed by chlorine oxidizing bather waste. Pumps and filters are sized accordingly. Closing a skimmer is a bit like duct taping your mouth and trying to take vitamins in a suppository, at least to my mind

That said, i don't know how your system was engineered...but it seems to me it would be sub-optimal to operate that way deliberately for any length of time.

Eg. You need to fix or get someone to fix the skimmer leak -- so you should be fine shutting the skimmer line as an interim measure.

Just don't underestimate the power of filtration in water quality. Its the difference between swimming in a bathtub or stagnant pond and freshwater

 

[duraleigh]

You will regret removing that skimmer. Keep it and use it for what it's intended....filtering your water.

If you can see it wet from the outside, any leak ought to be pretty easy to find

 

[stimpsonjcat]

OK OK OK

Skimmer will stay.

I'll post some pics of the situation to help explain my concerns when I get a chance.

Thanks everyone!

 

[kimkats]

OK OK OK

Skimmer will stay.

I'll post some pics of the situation to help explain my concerns when I get a chance.

Thanks everyone!

LOL

 

[stimpsonjcat]

OK, had some kids in the pool/spa this weekend and figured out the 'leak' in the skimmer.

There is a plastic bucket that makes up the skimmer body, and then there is an upper cover that appears to really only be there to allow the disk that covers the skimmer to be mounted/removed. At any rate they are not sealed together, so when the water becomes agitated, it spills through this unsealed opening and shows up through the stucco on the outside of the box where the skimmer is located.

I will seal this and see if the issue goes away.

It was necessary to keep the skimmer at the height shown to prevent drainage water from the driveway and roof getting into the pool.

Heavy rains can still get water into the pool via the screen windows, and this is what happened that I mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[triptyx]

ahh, interesting.

I hope it's as simple as that!

 

[stimpsonjcat]

Did I never post the pic...derp!